Change
by Thickle
Summary: Can Lucy live with the despair of being ignored by her guild, having her heart crushed by the boy she shared many adventures with? How will she fare, would she have the will to continue to live her life now that it's changed? Or would she crumble to the floor because of her misery? Experimental one-shot?


**Uncertain**

**Hope you guys enjoy this one shot? (Read the bottom A/N)**

**Thoughts: '**_Yo'_

**Dialogue:** "Yo"

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, however I do own this fanfic (;**

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><p>"Faith is why I'm here today and faith is why I made it through"<p>

It had been nearly _two_ whole months since coming back from Edolas, _two_ whole months since this whole thing started, _two_ months was all it took- to change it all...

It wasn't that she didn't dislike Lisanna or anything as such, quite the opposite in fact, she admired her, Lisanna was sweet and a gentle, strong soul, someone deserving of the attention she had been getting lately since returning from 'the so called dead' as everyone seemed to call , Or you could say a misunderstood body switch between two worlds resulting in one persons' death and not the others'? Yeah, sure…But dismissing that complex subject, for Lucy-it didn't mean that it hurt to know people were paying less and less attention to her now a days and some had begun to completely ignore her existence altogether!

And what's worse, some of her closest friends that she has known for the past year or so were also in that category of ignorance, more specifically: Erza, Gray and Natsu. And what could Lucy do about this? Absolutely nothing. She couldn't, it wasn't fair of her to ruin their fun even though they were hurting her feelings and leaving her neglected, she just couldn't bear to be selfish and demand attention back to herself.

If it were Lucy who was in Lisanna's shoes she didn't doubt that she would also be receiving this much attention. But that did nothing to qualm her loneliness she had been experiencing lately.

Glancing over her shoulder, Lucy couldn't help but feel a tad bit form of annoyance towards the girl with bleached hair and sparkling big, blue; baby eyes as she twirled around and danced on top of a table with her older brother, laughing gaily at something he said.

'_Stop it Lucy, damn it why do you have to be so pathetic for? Get a grip! There is no reason for you to feel annoyed with Lisanna; she's just having fun with Elfman and the guild!'_

But she couldn't help herself, no matter how many times she berated herself- just the thought of everyone having fun, dancing around and laughing without a care in the world while she brooded sullenly at the bar was enough to cause such emotions as annoyance, sadness and even anger to roll into her mind. She didn't like it, not one bit. Better yet, she absolutely despised it and had begun to get pissed off at herself for such considerations to even take place.

Seeing Mira pass by she tried getting her attention by calling out, "Hey Mira!" No acknowledgement whatsoever. It was to be expected, At least-Mira barely batted an eye towards Lucy these past few weeks, slowly and gradually dimming down her greetings from "Good Morning Lucy!" to a simple "Hi" here and there.

It was incredibly uncharacteristic for the she-demon to be acting as she was, for she was known to be the kind, caring mother- like figure to ALL of the guild members, arrogant, sassy and shy alike. So for reasons Lucy couldn't fathom, it was indeed out of normality for Mira to act like a- well she didn't want to call her out on it or anything. But in simple words, Mira was acting like a bitch.

With a dejected 'humph' she slouched back into her stool, shooting her gaze back towards Mira's little sister.

'_Perhaps everyone would soon start to forget her and move on from all the excitement, and then everything could go back to the way it used to be...'_

**Ridiculous**

She was Lucy Heartphilia! How dare she even allow such a prospect to plague her mind, furthermore it was hardly fair on the girl, it wasn't her fault that she was receiving such attention and Lucy would be damned to see someone she considered her own _nakama_ -feel like an outcast because of her own self-regarding thoughts.

Mentally slapping herself, she finished her strawberry milkshake and slammed it on the bench with a thud, then abruptly turned in her seat, got up and drifted her eyes towards the area currently being occupied by her fellow guild members, who were huddled up in a huge group having fun and cheering at _something_.

It never ceased to amaze her how loud and utterly out of control her guild could be, but that was Fairy Tail for ya', all the brawls and parties which was packed with a cluster of mixed personalities and hyperactive fools running around was what made up Fairy Tail, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was always overlooked because of the fierce protective trait every member seemed to carry with them- which truly; was the core of Fairy Tail, they were like family.

Looking around she noticed that Lisanna had jumped down from the table she had been on moments ago and that Team Natsu were nowhere in sight, _'Maybe they are with everyone else?_' Well it wouldn't hurt to look and besides she was curious to see what all the fuss was about concerning the ever large growing group of her guild members, with renewed resolve she started towards her comrades- for she had absolutely no intention of sitting back down and sulking pitifully, she might as well bury herself a hole in the ground and sleep it in if she were to do so.

'_No way _'she thought to herself as she continued towards the bunch_, 'I'm going to suck it up and cheer with the rest of the guild; I'm going to be happy for them...'_ She found herself smiling at the thought as she pushed her way through the crowd until she found herself planted near the front line of the highly ecstatic group.

However that smile that was plastered on her face a few seconds ago completely vanished as quickly as it came and her resolve crumbled to the ground when she had finally caught sight of what all the commotion was about, she stood frozen to the ground as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Tears beginning to sting from the corners of her senses-yet she couldn't tear her gaze away from the centre of the semi-circle she regretfully found herself in, despite all the desire to turn away from it.

'_Oh god, why?'…_

It was when Elfman began roaring with appraises and shouts of "Natsu is a man!" Lucy finally snapped out of her temporary trance-like state, not wanting to witness anymore she turned sharply on her heels and forced herself out, receiving a few rough hits from various elbows and jabs to her ribs because of her hurry.

Well, she was definitely going to have a few bruises here and there but it seemed that no one paid mind to her, because everyone's attention was on the Fire mage and Shape shifter lip locking in a passionate embrace, whilst being cheered on from all of their friends. Not one of her guild members saw the utter look of defeat on the blonde swiftly making her way to the entrance of Fairy Tail and walking out the guild doors.

'_Why… Natsu?'_

She thought to herself as a single tear finally slipped from her welling eyes.

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><p>With a sigh, Master Makarov watched the scene unfold from his seat upon the railing on the second floor- it occurred to him that none of the occupants of Fairy Tail had cared to notice the gloomy look on the blonde celestial mage when she caught sight of the couple happily kissing.<p>

This could be a problem, Makarov suspected Lucy would harbour feelings for the pink-haired Dragon slayer since they had become partners and went on various adventures together, and yet-this new _revelation _caught even _him_ off guard_._

Now you see, Makarov wasn't dense or stupid, he knew Natsu and Lisanna shared a childhood history together but he hadn't expected those innocent childhood feelings to re-surface after what? Two years, then turn in _this_.Nope, he was absolutely bewildered by it.

Oh well, love was strange, was it not? And young love at that. Though…

That didn't change the fact that the pink-haired buffoon and the rest of the guild were involuntarily hurting one of his children and he didn't like the look of it.

This could turn out bad.

Having seen enough for the time being, Makarov jumped off the railing he was perched on and began heading back to his office, thinking hard along the way.

'_Please be strong Lucy, be strong'…_

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><p>When Lucy arrived back at her apartment she looked like a total mess, her eyes were downcast; red and puffy from all the sobbing she couldn't seemed to stop in her rush, the few people that were passing by on the sidewalks stopping to stare at her sad form before continuing on their merry way, one little girl even tried to coax her mother to do something to stop her continuous crying, to which the mother simply said "It's none of our business" then tugged her child's hand, leading her away down the street; her usually contained hair was also ruffled by the wind which had picked up as she hurriedly walked through the streets of Magnolia to the direction of her home, trying desperately to stop the images of Natsu kissing Lisanna from relaying in her head.<p>

Nevertheless, no matter how much she tried to do so, she could do nothing to slow down the cruel onslaught of pictures from making her miserable, the images came back more vivid than before, giving her an unwanted headache.

Irritated, she had quickened her pace to a minor jog until she arrived at her apartment, to which she released a relieved sigh then began to the door, As soon as she was inside, closing the door shut and clicking on the lock she paced around the her bedroom and gathered up the necessities for a nice warm shower, she needed it, for it would soothe her aching body and a nice nap afterwards would do her good for her tired, sore mind.

Though nothing could be done about her emotions, she guessed that could wait until tomorrow. She had enough for one fucking day,_ no actually_, for the past two months.

Growling slightly, Lucy opened her dressers' bottom drawer, grabbed her fluffy plain white towel, shut the open drawer with a little force more than necessary then began towards her bathroom. Once inside, she opted for a change of mind and went for a bath instead of a shower and begun to immediately turn on the faucet and plug in the blocker, allowing the tub to gradually fill with the welcoming, hot water her body yearned for.

When the tub filled to the brim she slipped in, glad and content for the relaxing sensation the water had on her tired muscles. And though she managed to get a few minutes of peace, the images returned with full force back to the forefront of her mind- again.

'_Damn it.' _

It was going to be a long night.

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><p><strong>The next morning...<strong>

Lucy awoke from the brilliant, yet so bright warmth of the sun blazing across her pale face from the open window near the left side of her plush bed, her long locks splayed about her equally luxurious pillow, who knew the wonders of sleeping after having such a rough day!?

Sitting up and stretching out the kinks she momentarily forgot all about the distress caused from yesterday's _events_, as she got up from her bed to prepare for the new day.

Now last night certainly wasn't easy for her, and it was only when she finally tired out from all the tears her eyes seemed to release that she managed to fall asleep. Which was a miracle, dare she say. However, the time between laying in bed and falling asleep allowed her mind to wonder off and think.

And think she did, though it wasn't entirely pleasant and her emotions were in a wrapped up in a tornado, Lucy came to a thoughtful decision that she intended to carry out. Furthermore, she also had time to accept the fact that Natsu and Lisanna were now together and that she had to face the inevitable encounter she would surely have the next day. It was going to be hard, yes, but Lucy was determined.

**Flashback-Last Night (Lucy's POV)**

_Stupid Natsu, Stupid Lisanna, Stupid Guild and most of all Stupid Me, How could they be so dense and just outright dumb? Okay maybe not stupid, but god damn frustrating. And now I'm here, lying in bed like a depressed little girl who had been dumped by her boyfriend, only difference is; I didn't have a boyfriend to break up with. And I'm also crying, I probably look like a mess right now, but I can't particularly give a crap. I feel like shit so I'll look like shit. _She sighed loudly, breathing in slowly then returning back to her thoughts._ Why am I always the one who gets picked on? Why can't it be someone else for once? I know that might seem abit selfish but I don't care; I deserve a fucking break for once. _The tears were flowing steadily down her face…_And now this, the guild has been ignoring me for not one, but two months! No one talks to me anymore; Levy, Gajeel, Lily and Wendy have been gone for the past month and half; training and doing various jobs I presume. But that shouldn't be a problem, why weren't my other friends talking to me? It's like I don't even exist anymore, like a shadow in the room. Just standing there looking like an idiot, Am I not a good enough of a friend to them? Am I not worth any interest, anything at all? _Irritated by her thoughts, she began to angrily chew on her bottom lip, breaking the skin little by little._ Actually, it shouldn't be a problem, because I am Lucy the celestial mage; I don't need them._ That was a **lie** and she knew it, but she could settle for a lie for the time being, _I don't need anyone; _She **convinced** herself. _I can take care of myself, _She **repeated**_. I can watch out for myself, I can talk with my spirits, and I don't __**need**__ them._ A sad smile crossed her face,_ I won't even bother with Team Natsu anymore, and it seems they made their choice. I can and will pick up after myself, I always have…_

**End of Flashback- Last Night (Lucy's POV)**

Lucy had made up her mind last night and she refused to break because her _crush_ was now dating someone else, who obviously wasn't her. It wasn't like he was even her's to begin with, so really she shouldn't be that upset about it.

Still she got a little saddened by that realisation…

And if there was something she could have done to prevent the present hole she had unluckily fallen in, she would pay dearly to have a second chance at it. How did things get this far? Where did it all go wrong?

'_What did I do to deserve this?'_

Shaking her head a little too hard from further questioning her thoughts she went about her morning routine.

It was no good thinking about it anymore; all she had to do was move on and deal with it.

She walked straight ahead to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, which today consisted of tantalising, fat pancakes that she covered in maple syrup-topped alongside a bundled amount of fresh strawberries with a glass of orange juice to the side, She took her time eating and enjoying her meal, usually she wouldn't have the time of day to do so but since all that had been happening lately Lucy was able to accommodate herself with things she normally didn't have time to dulge in.

Which was great, because it mean relaxation and some form of freedom from idiots barging into her room at _uncertain_ times.

Finishing off her breakfast Lucy went about to putting the dishes into the kitchen sink, then busying herself with brushing her teeth and hair afterwards, carefully undoing the odd knots in her hair then quickly giving her apartment a little sweep.

Then- when all was set and done she carefully applied some ointment to her mildly, swollen cracked lips- which stinged a little at first contact but then gradually numbed out.

Lastly, when Lucy decided all was good and she was ready for the day- she made last checks on all the locks on her doors and windows then promptly bolted out of her apartment.

Ready for the new day, ready for anything.

'_Time to face this head on'_

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><p>When she arrived at the guild hall, the first difference she noted was the eerily quietness that had settled upon the large guild hall, <em>'Strange'<em>, no matter, Lucy technically _had_ arrived earlier than usual- it'd probably explain the absence of a few _certain_ people and the loud thunder of usual chatter.

Ignoring the chill that was currently riding up her spine, she forced a small smile and walked to the request board.

Since she had been getting ignored lately and Team Natsu was temporarily out of _commission_, Lucy had been taking on solo missions to pay off her rent, though the missions she usually picked out were lacking in jewels, she managed.

It was when looking at the various different job selections, she heard _it_.

Not necessarily an _it_, more like a _someone_

"Lucy!"

That sounded a lot like Mira's voice, but that couldn't be. Mira hadn't paid hardly any attention to the blonde what so ever since her younger sister's return. She probably heard incorrectly,

Yes, that was it.

"Hey Lucy!"

There it was again, only louder this time.

Looking around to see who called her name, she was surprised to see that it was in fact Mira -waving to her from behind the bar, beckoning her over.

So she didn't imagine it.

Surprise littered her face, well this was new, considering the fact that she and Mira hadn't had a decent conversation in a while; suffice to say her interest was piqued.

'_What could this be about?'_ She wondered.

Oh well, she had no time to further dwell on why the hell out of all days- Mira suddenly wanted to talk with her, did she want a favour?

Perhaps, only one way to find out...

Making her way towards the she-devil she couldn't help but feel a little nervous and excited, nervous that she was going over there and risking getting her hopes crushed and excited because Mira might actually want to talk with her.

She opted for the latter, though- a girl can dream right?

Though she doubted herself and somehow an image of Mira lecturing her occurred in her mind.

Maybe she's mad about something she did? Thinking back on it, she couldn't remember doing anything that might have upset the take-over mage, majorly or in the slightest.

_'Oh my god, shut up' _her conscience, oh so easily told her.

This should be easy for her, so why was she getting so worked up?

All she had to do was go over there, act casual and greet her, and then question her as to why she called her over, hey! They might even have a chit-chatting session just like old times. Except that was at a 5% chance of actually happening, given the current situation an all….

_'ARGH!' _

Shaking her head slightly, she began to approach the S class beauty, her stomach currently strewing uneasy flip flops, she picked up her pace.

_'Just say hi, ask what she wants then leave'_

She was just beyond 10 feet away.

_'Should be a piece of cake'_

5 feet away.

Then thoughts of doubt came rushing forth, yet again!

_Maybe she wants a favour, maybe she didn't even call for her, she probably misheard, maybe she might dismiss her once she reaches the bar, and maybe she'll…_

_'SHUT UP!' _

Mentally putting herself on lockdown, she found herself in front of the bar, across a smiling Mira.

This only frightened her and increased her worries.

_'Why me?' _She internally groaned.

She could practically sob right now, but she wouldn't. Not in front of everyone and certainly not for the loss of her dignity in the least.

A few seconds passed by without any greeting from either girl, just standing there; staring at each other. One with a freaky smile on her face and the other nervously shifting. Having had enough of the awkward silence Lucy went ahead to break it,

"So, wha-"

Only to be rudely cut off by the other girl.

"Master has a request for you!" It sounded so cheery and utterly _wrong_, clashing with Lucy's broken expression.

And with that she turned and flashed off towards another customer, leaving a slightly dumbstruck celestial mage; not giving her the decency to reply.

Well so much to having some idle chit chat and reminiscing old times! That dismissal felt like a punch to the gut, said gut was now in full whirlwind and Lucy feared she might hurl.

The tears were also threatening to spill forth and down her face, _'No, not now'_. Mira was just busy, it couldn't be helped that there were other customers who were in need of attending to. It was Mira's job after all, as a bartender.

Yes, that was it.

And didn't she tell herself that she had no need for them anymore, so why did she get all worked up… if it was for nothing in the end?

Taking a moment to compose herself, wiping away any stray traces of the salty water lingering on her cheeks, Lucy went ahead to check up on master. She could deal with the idiocy of falling whim to the hopes of conversation with someone she once considered an older sister, later-for now she pushed herself away from the bar and strode towards the stairs; leading up to the second floor.

When she reached the guild master's office, Lucy seemed a little hesitant when her hands protruded forward and lingered in front of the hard, wooden door. She didn't know why she felt the sudden _uncertainty_ but it seemed to fade as rapidly as it appeared.

Reaching forward a few more inches she was unable to knock as she heard her master's gruff voice-

"Come in" Calling her forth to go through.

Exhaling briefly, she pushed open one of the high, hardened doors and entered into her Master's headquarters. It was quite spacious to say the least, in terms of it being an office-though Lucy hardly paid any mind to it in earlier visits to the area since she had no time to dwell on such things.

Now though, looking around the room. Lucy began to realise her Master was a bit of hoarder- though a very _collective_ hoarder at that.

Slightly positioned in the middle of the room was the main desk, elegant in design but hidden from view of all the papers stacked upon it, there was two medium sized pine plants as well, pictured on either side of the desk but that was nothing compared to the extravagant rows of tiny pots littering the front of the desk- varying from small to large and which seemed to house various different species of plants; next came the tall and wide timber bookshelf situated at the back of the desk, which was the grand beauty of all. For it seemed to hold trophies, delicate books and artefacts strewn leisurely across its panels.

Then the rest of the room was littered with paintings on either side of the walls, with two worn leather couches facing each other from opposite ends. Cabinets of various sizes were positioned near the corners of the room, some overflowing with vast amounts of paperwork.

Lucy then concluded her Master might have a mild case of OCD, seeing how the room was strategically placed so not one item was left on its own.

Everything had a pair.

Lastly; there were the two sturdy guest chairs in front of the desk- it was as one would say-'homey', quite a bit to take in but she was otherwise occupied to pay any attention to such details before.

She was going off to adventures ya know?

Adventures, such a foreign word to her now. It seemed that not too long ago the young busty girl was running around, causing mischief with her group of equally outrageous misfits. So long ago it seemed, yet it had transpired so shortly before.

Yeah right, if you can count 2 months as 'shortly', but that was what it felt like to Lucy and who was she to complain? It was nice thinking back on those little events she shared with Team Natsu.

Events she dearly missed.

Coming out of her distracting thoughts, her gaze fell upon the only other person in the room.

Sitting on his desk which seemed too large for his miniature body was the Master, perched up and crossed legged-he had been waiting expectantly for the young one to enter, nodding at her when she made an appearance, he motioned towards one of the guest chairs in front of him.

Taking a seat across the old man, "You asked for me, Master?" She questioned. Lucy honestly didn't know why the guild Master would have called for her, she doubted it be for a mission or maybe it was to ask a quick question?

She had no idea.

Giving her a slight nod, "Ah yes, my dear child, you may be wondering why I called for you ?" Lucy repaid him with a small twitch of her head, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"Well, you see _Lucy,-_She didn't miss the emphasis on her name, "There is a certain issue that has arisen and I require your assistance.."

'_Huh? He needs my help?'_

"Okay…but I don't know how _I_ could be of any help to you?" She admitted, letting her head fall down shamefully.

She knew she wasn't the strongest mage in the guild, having only her whip **Fleuve d'étoiles **and her Celestial spirits as her only form of attack. She hardly had any combat skills and wasn't the best at battles, though tactics were more of her thing thanks to her fast thinking and intelligence. But when she was put in such situations where she needed to get down and dirty, (Such as jobs or a run in with dark mages) she always tried her hardest to deploy a plan of attack, and it's worked out fine so far; excluding a few situations where she was utterly helpless.

Though her will to never give up gave her strength not physically, but in mind and that had to count for something.

Right?

Master Makarov surprised her by chuckling, "Oh Lucy, you are the perfect person to do this job for me so there is no reason for you to doubt yourself" He added, sending her a warm smile.

Bringing her eyes to look at him, she could tell his smile was genuine and so were his words. This in turn brought a small smile upon her own face. But she couldn't nag the feeling that whatever he needed from her, she wasn't going to like it. It's not that she mistrusted her Master, she was loyal to her guild after all but the old man can be deceptive and sneaky.

You never know what to expect from him.

"Well...Uhm, What is it that you need my help with then, Master?" she asked rather attentively, she couldn't fathom the small amount of joy that was brought forth when he told her that she would be the perfect assistant for whatever job he had in mind.

It made her feel- noticed.

"I wouldn't call it a job actually- More of an assignment, a long term one"

That had the alarm bells rolling, what was he implying when he said 'Long term'? Was this jo-assignment really hard that it would take days to complete it? Weeks? Months….Years? That thought scared her a little- she just couldn't see herself taking on a year or (Years) long job by herself. Well she didn't know that she would be by herself, Lucy was only speculating that.

Since Master Makarov specifically asked for her and no one else.

"An assignment?" she pursued.

"Yes, see- this particular assignment of mine has been handed down from the council and they wish for a qualified mage to complete it"

"Yes?" she spoke none too quickly.

"And well…"

She was getting a little impatient with him; he kept on dragging the answer on- seeming to delay the finality of it and that didn't sit well with Lucy. She liked getting answers quick and fast, no interruptions and the bells were off the charts by now- his ability to piss her off at the wrong times usually resulted in her screaming and oh boy, she did not want to scream at this time, not when she was in a shaky mood already.

Master Makarov could see the patience wearing within her tone, but he was afraid to tell her what he was planning to do- with her help of course. But good things could come out of unexpected surprises, even if they seem to be the worst possible situations to be put in.

One could only hope, this was one of those scenarios- or else his plan to lift up the spirits of the young wizard may back fire and be brought into an even deeper despair than she is currently in and an earful of her yelling. But he had to take the risk; it had been going on too long.

"I …"

"Yes, master?"

Oh the hell with it.

"I want to sign you up for the upcoming S-class trials"

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><p><strong>Oh, did I leave you hanging? I'm sorry :'( but it is a one shot (; Anyways forgive me if my phrasing and such are... weird and just don't sound right- I wrote this a while back (oh and I suck at writing dialogues *cries*) and though this is a one shot I may or may not continue it and drag it out to be a full on fic (The dream!), depends on my mood and effort to be honest, since I'm pretty lazy. R&amp;R and tell me how I went? Cheers :D<strong>


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